Good attendance is very important to us. On average, our students have an attendance rate of 97%. We appreciate, however, that everyone does not have good health all the time, and that genuine illness, injury or emergencies happen, so there may be legitimate reasons for students to be out of school.

Absence

Please contact the school before 8.30 a.m. on every day of your child’s absence, either by phone to 0121 444 2150 or email absence@kechg.org.uk. Please leave a message with your child’s name and form, and the reason for the absence.

Cases of infectious disease should be notified to the school immediately.

If your child has not been reported absent, and has not been marked present at registration, you will receive an automatic email asking you to contact the school as soon as possible with a reason for the unexplained absence. You must respond to this email, as part of our safeguarding policy.

When your child returns to school you must provide an absence note on the first day back into school. Medical documents are not required unless you have received medical advice not to participate in elements of the curriculum, such as P.E. lessons. In this case, we are required to have written evidence.

The government have stated that parents/carers should not take their child out of school during term time. Ms. Stevens can authorise leave only under exceptional circumstances and an application should be made in writing at least half a term in advance to Ms. Stevens, Headteacher. She can be contacted at head@kechg.org.uk. In making a decision whether to grant term-time leave, consideration will be given to:

• Reason for requests (must be exceptional)
• Age of the student
• Duration of leave
• The student’s attendance record
• Student’s ability
• Previous term-time leave

Parents/carers should note that the law on attendance requires the school to determine whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised. Any unauthorised absence has to be recorded on the student’s end of year report. We also report to parents/carers on the total number of absences and late arrivals. If we have any concerns you will be contacted by either your child’s Form Tutor or Mr. Hardy, Head of Year 7.

If your child needs a leave of absence for religious observance, please request the absence by email to absence@kechg.org.uk at least 3 days prior to the date.

Appointments

Wherever possible appointments should be made out of school hours. If a student has to be absent, or needs to leave school during the school day, parents/carers must send an email or letter in advance. Emails for planned absences should be sent to the headteacher at head@kechg.org.uk. Parents/carers are requested to arrange to meet their children at reception and students should make their way down at the correct time. We will sign students out at reception and we will provide a pass to cover the time out of school. If students return to school later in the day, they must sign in at reception when they return.

Punctuality

Occasional lateness owing to bad weather conditions or transport problems cannot be avoided, but lateness must be the exception. If a student arrives late to school, they should do the following:

Arrival between 9.00 a.m. and 9.15 a.m.
On a non-assembly morning, go to the form room and explain the reason for being late. The form tutor will issue a late mark in the register. On days when assemblies are taking place, students should report directly to reception and sign in late on the monitor. Students should remain in reception until assembly finishes. A member of the office staff will adjust the register and record the late.

Arrival after 9.15 a.m.
If a student arrives after 9.15 a.m., sign in on the monitor at reception and then report to the lesson. This will be counted as an absence and you will be asked to provide a letter to cover it.